Today was my first book signing. I reflected other firsts in my life.

Some firsts are exciting.

• 1st day of kindergarten. (I really liked my pink pleated skirt!)
• 1st paycheck. (Even if I got sun poisoning lifeguarding that summer.)
• 1st dorm room. (Cleaning the floor with Pledge was not a great idea.)
• 1st car. (I sacrificed my 2-door Ciera to accommodate a car seat. Great exchange!)
• 1st plane ride. (And the grandest view of a sunset in my life to date.)
• 1st cell phone. (Even if it didn’t fit in my pocket!)

Some not-so-fun firsts.

• 1st speeding ticket.
• 1st overdraft notice.
• 1st surgery.
• 1st perm.

My first date was rather boring. My first kiss was too sloppy. My first bridesmaid dress was hideous.

Firsts can be…thrilling, frightening, or disastrous. The first can make a huge impression or get lost in surrounding details. Sometimes we soon get caught in a routine so that the first doesn’t seem as significant. Sometimes the first is so remarkable that everything that follows is a disappointment.

The first is a beginning. The first starts something. We don’t stay in the first. We grow from it. We can appreciate it, but we shouldn’t steep in it. We should step out of it. It’s a journey.

You experience a first every day of your life. If you stay aware, you’ll likely find something fresh in your day to celebrate as a first. A seed planted to grow in the coming days. If you notice nothing new in your day, it’s at least the first day of the rest of your life. That phrase might seem lofty and dreamy, but it can also serve as a practical reminder.

I have a choice to live today in a way that sets the foundation for tomorrow. Hopefully, many of the days leading up to this one have set firm foundations on which I’m now building. Firsts lead the way. Today sets the pace and priorities. You can wait until tomorrow’s today to make changes, but why waste today?

I remember the “today” I decided to live every other today for the rest of my life for God. But I’m not going to stay in the memory of that day. I don’t want to lose today…and the opportunity to choose to live for God in the details of today. I haven’t filled every today with great choices – not even close. But each day – each today – sets the pace and priority for the next.  

What pace and priority are your setting today?

 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Hebrews 13:8